KENEDY – After losing a close game to Karnes City in the season opener, the Kenedy Lions looked to rebound as they hosted the Pettus Eagles on Friday night. With their special teams coming to help the offense and defense, the Lions defeated the Eagles by the score of 35-6 to get their first win of the 2013 season.

“It was a good win for us,” said Kenedy head coach Lin Havron. “We did some good things and got some things done on special teams.”

The lone score of the first quarter and the first half came with 2:50 on the clock as Seferino Villarreal scored on a 50-yard punt return, though the missed extra point left the score at 6-0.

Scoring picked up in the second half. Kenedy received the ball to start the second half and took advantage as Villarreal scored on an 82-yard kickoff return, taking just 14 seconds off the clock. Dominic Cruz passed to Tony Aleman for the 2-point conversion to put the Lions up 14-0. The Lions next score came with 2:24 to go in the third quarter as Cruz connected with Jacob Asebedo on a 28-yard passing score, with Jordan Valdez kicking the PAT to extend the lead to 21-6. The Eagles’ lone score of the game came with just six seconds left in the third quarter as Matt Gonzales connected with Josh Herrera on a 40-yard passing touchdown play, though the failed kick left the score at 21-6 at the end of the third quarter.

Kenedy scored twice in the fourth quarter to put the game out of Pettus’ reach. The first of these came at the 8:05 mark as Villarreal scored on an 8-yard run, with Valdez adding the extra point. The final score of the contest came with 2:29 to go as Cruz connected with Asebedo gain, this time on a 15-yard score. Valdez’s kick put the Lions’ lead at 35-6, which stood as the game drew to a close.

Statistically, the Lions gained 237 yards of total offense, with 138 yards rushing over 36 carries and 99 yards passing over seven completions. The Eagles were held to 87 yards of total offense, with -23 yards rushing over 33 carries and 110 yards passing over four completions. Penalties were aplenty in the contest, as the Lions were flagged 12 times for 130 total yards and the Eagles were penalized nine times for 60 total yards.

“We had some turnovers and fumbles since the ball was slick because of the humidity and everyone was sweaty,” said Havron. “In the second half we did a good job of ball security.”

This week, the Lions will travel town U.S. 181 to take on the Skidmore-Tynan Bobcats.

“They’re running a combination of spread and slot-T,” Havron said about the Bobcats. “It’ll be a challenge for us to lineup right and take care of two different things.”